POSCO says won't be able to set up Odisha plant by July 2017 | Reuters

NEW DELHI South Korean steelmaker POSCO on Friday told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it would not be able to set up a $12 billion steel plant in Odisha by July 2017, as the construction is yet to begin.

Regulatory hurdles have pushed back the project, billed as India's biggest foreign direct investment, for more than a decade.

POSCO's lawyer told Reuters after a hearing in the NGT that the company has not been able to obtain forest and other clearances while its environmental clearance is valid until July 2017.

POSCO could scrap plans for the Odisha project after a new law made it costlier to source iron ore for the plant, Reuters reported last July.

(Reporting by Nigam Prusty; Editing by Sunil Nair)

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